A quest for error factors in predicting heavy weight floor impact sound levels using measured data in existing residential buildings

A number of datasets regarding the heavy weighted floor impact sound level and the driving point impedance level, i.e., twenty times the common logarithm of driving point impedance at an exciting point, were measured in existing residential buildings before the floor finishing of the excitation room and the ceiling finishing of the receiving room were installed. These data were compared to the calculated values by the impedance method, i.e., a practical method that estimates vibration energy of an excited slab using the driving point impedance at the exciting point as a major factor, as well as those using the Finite Element Method (FEM) models of slabs. Furthermore, correlations between the residual errors and the major dimensions of the receiving rooms were investigated. Two major error factors were found to influence the calculated values by the impedance method. The spectral characteristic of the tire impact source within the 63 Hz band effectively decreased the prediction errors when it was included in the calculation and combined with the FEM models of slabs. The length of the shorter side of the receiving room plan correlated to the residual errors of the receiving rooms having a pair of flat parallel walls. These errors arise from the fact that the receiving points were placed at the central and quarter positions within the wall distance, where the nodes of the horizontal mode exist. It was not possible to identify another dimension of the receiving room that significantly correlates to the residual errors of the prediction.